Action Item follow-up: Free Sakineh

TW for state violence against women

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is an Iranian woman sentenced to death for the crime of adultery, in the absence of evidence proving her guilt, based on "judges knowledge", which apparently consists of one judge's knowledge that killing women makes him feel good. Liss previously blogged about the case here.

International pressure has been brought to bear on the Iranian government not to stone Ms. Ashtiani to death, but her sentence has not been revoked and it has been feared that she would be put to death, even if not by stoning. On August 28, she was told she was to be hanged the next day. Apparently authorities were just having a little fun with her, as the execution did not take place.

Or perhaps this cruelty was punishment for the indignity Iranian authorities are suffering from the worldwide pressure to release Ms. Ashtiani. Says her 22-year-old son Sajad,

They are furious with the international outcry over my mother's case so they are taking revenge on her.

Since the fake execution, Ms Ashtiani has been sentenced to be flogged — again. She had previously received 99 lashes as a result of the adultery conviction, as a preliminary to her eventual stoning.

Now, according to her family, she has been ordered to receive an additional 99 lashes for "spreading corruption and indecency" by allowing a picture of herself with uncovered hair to be published by the British newspaper the Times. The fact that a) she permitted no such thing, and b) the photo wasn't actually of her at all, were apparently not considered mitigating factors, or rather, were simply not considered.

The photo which the Times had identified as being of Ms. Ashtiani was actually one of an Iranian expatriate activist, which had been posted on a website along with an article she had written about Ms. Ashtiani. The Times, which is outraged about everybody else's role in all this, says the picture was given them by one of the lawyers who has been associated with Ms. Ashtiani's case, Mohammad Mostafaei. Mr. Mostafaei says he got it from Ms. Ashtiani's son (who says that is not so, and has appealed to Mr. Mostafaei to refrain from commenting further on his mother's case) and besides he doesn't think she'll be whipped again anyway.

Wev. None of these gentlemen (except for her son who, along with his sister, has been desperately trying to secure his mother's release) is responsible for nothing. Ms. Ashtiani, on the other hand, is clearly responsible for the fact that the judge who sentenced her to death in the absence of evidence has a nasty mind, and for being a woman.

There are fears that the Iranian authorities are planning to execute Ms. Ashtiani, if not by stoning then by hanging, following the end of Ramadan at the end of this week. Because women's sexuality, and women's selves, are commodities for men to dispute with one another over. And if the party which has the disputed object — Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani — in its possession does not feel it is winning the dispute, it can kill her.

Despite the vengeance that is apparently being inflicted on Ms. Ashtiani as a result of the international pressure to save her, her son Sajad has said it is also the only reason she is still alive.

The freesakineh.org site has a respectful letter to the top Iranian clerics, asking them to intervene on Ms. Astiani's behalf, which you can sign here.

Edited to correct my careless usage of the word "unveiled", following the Guardian article, to describe the the woman in the photo which was the basis for the accusation that Ms. Ashtiani was "spreading corruption and indecency". In fact, the "indecency" was based on the fact that the woman in question was not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, not that her face was unveiled. Thanks to TheDeviantE for bringing this to my attention in a comment.